Trace-carrier



- (No Model.)

. W. ,DOWNING.

TRACE GA RRIER.

No. 260,547. Patented Jul -4, 1882.

ATTORNEYS.-

UNITED STAT-Es PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER DOWNING, OF VAN ORIN, ILLINOIS.

.TRACE-CAVRRIER.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 260,547, dated July 4, 1882. Application filed April 21, 1882. (No model.) I

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALTER DOWNING, of Van Orin, in the county of Bureau and State of Illinois, have invented a new and Improved Trace-Carrier, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention consists principally of a tracecarrier for harness, having such construction that it is adapted to hold the side, back, and crupper straps without stitching the straps and without the use of extra buckles, rivets, or other attachments.

The invention also consists of the construction, arrangement, and combination of the devices, all as hereinafter fully described;

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of my new and improved trace-carrier. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the bottom plate of the trace-carrier, showin g the means of holding the ends of the straps. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation taken on the line as .10 of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a similar view. taken on the line y 3 of Fig.

A represents the upper part of the tracecarrier, and B represents the lower part thereof, which parts are held together by the central screw, D; and G (J represent the hipstraps 3 E, the back-strap; and F, the erupper-strap, the adjacent ends of all of which are clamped and held between the said plates 'A and B.

The main portion 1) of the upper part, A, is by preference made conical, and is cast with the headed or undercut hooks acafor holding the cockeyes of the braces, and with the elevated guard or frame G, for preventing the accidental disengagement of the cockeyes from the hooks andpreventing the hair of the horses tail and the lines of the harness from catching in the hooks a a.

,The under surface of the main portion b of the part A is a fiat plane surface, except that the square recess f is formed in the center thereof, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The upper surface of the lower part, B, of

the device is formed with the square central 5o stud g, which is adapted to fit in the recess f of the part A when the parts are secured together, and with the radial recesses 0 c, in which the hip-straps are placed, and with the radial recesses d d, in which the back-strap E and crupper-strap F are placed These straps and the hip-straps are by preference retained in these recesses by means of the projections '17 i, which reach into the recesses o and d and engage with the notches i t, formed in the straps, as shown in Fig. 2; but instead of using these projections 'i' i, suitable pins or studs may be used for holding the straps, or, for greater security, both the pins and the projections may be used, if desired.

H H represent guttered or recessed extensions, attached to or formed with the bottom plate, B, Which extensions are formed at their outer ends with the loops h h, under or through which loops the crupper-strap and the backstrap, respectively, pass and rest in the said guttered extensions, as shown clearly in the drawings, for holding the straps from lateral movement and from being bent short upward or downward near the pointwhere the notches z i are made.

The hooks a a are formed so that the cockeyes can be taken ofl. only by bringing the cockeyes to a certain position which they cannot assume of themselves, but must be carried toward the tail of the horse by hand, so that there will be no danger of the accidental unhooking of the traces when once properly hooked in the carrier.

By securing the ends of the straps between the parts A and B of the trace-carrier, it will be seen that no rivets or buckles are required,

and that the straps are held without the decessity of stitching the straps, and that they can be removed'and replaced at pleasure, thus saving labor, time, and leather. Besides, the device is cheap and durable.

Instead of forming the recesses c c or d d in the bottom plate, B; the same might be made in the lower surface of the upper plate, A, and notdepart from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim as-new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An improved trace-carrier, consisting of the upper plate, A, the lower plate, B, having radial recesses c d in its upper surface and projections 13 in said recesses, and clampingscrew D, substantially as herein shown and described.

2. In a trace-carrier, the combination, with the upper plate, A, and clampingscrew D, of the bottom plate, B, provided with radial recesses c d, the projections z", and guttered extensions H 11, having loops h h, substantially as herein shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. In a trace-carrier, the combination, with the upper plate, A, provided with the central recess, f, of the 1ower plate, B, provided with the central stud, g, the radial recesses c d, and the projections i, and means for clamping said plates together, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the straps 0 0,13, and F, formed with the notches i i, of the upper plate, A, and the lower plate, B, the latter being constructed with the projections t" i, substantially as and for the purposes described.

5. The combination, with the lower plate, B, provided with the central stud, g, of the upper plate, A, provided with the hooks a, the central conical portion, I), the recess f, and the frame G, and the screw D, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

WALTER DOWNING.

Witnesses:

JAMES W. ISAAC, W. W. STEVENS. 

